Road or Hardtail? I'll have time for some small to mid length rides. Ride recommendations would be apprectiated.
Rendlesham forest is just down the road.
Tunstall is more fun than Rendlesham and marginally nearer.
Think I'd be inclined to take the roady though, lots of quiet, picturesque country lanes to explore without massive hills to contend with.
Thanks, Think I'll take the road bike and explore.
Road bike. Nice quiet lanes. Lots of nice pubs and food places to refuel at.
Hardtail! Unless your road bike is quite gravelly...
Gravel track from the harbour to walberswick on the old railway line, across the marshes to dunwich. Go exploring around Dunwich forest, XC to Minsmere/Westleton Heath and follow bridleways/Cheeky trails to Snape/Tunstall/Rendlesham/Woodbridge. Part of Tunstall is out of action due to felling works and the off-piste is choked with bracken but still most of the waymarked trails are accessible.
What he said ^^^^^^^^^^. Plus lots of stuff around Walberswick (up high above marshes) then ride to Blythburgh then down into Dunwich Forest. Check Strava for Dunwich Forest/Westleton/Eastbridge routes as there's lot's of new stuff appeared in the last year or so. An OS map is your friend. Return to Southwold up the bridleway/footpaths along the coast and marshes. Route works in either direction. Tunstall is fine at the moment with the majority of off-piste cleared by the trail pixies. Way-marked loop(Viking Trail) is still 9 miles long and well worth the drive down for an hour or 2 riding. This map might help but it's a bit out of date and doesn't show the bits I've found in the last 5 years. That route is about 30 miles.
Switchback is the man!
Thanks for all the info. Took the road bike. Had some nice rides, but regret not taking the HT. If I get out there again. The route Switchback put up looks brilliant.
We've also just come back from that same neck of the woods, although we were a little further South (Shottisham).
We took road bikes / gravel bikes / knobbly spare wheels and I think that I would probably do this again. There's some off-road stuff - lots of by-ways and bridleways - but we didn't find a lot of offroad riding where the gravel bike wasn't "the right one". I rode on Schwalbe G-Ones and they were absolutely perfect for the more or less dry conditions we had.
Some lovely rural roads to ride on and it's a lovely area - an underrated corner of the world, IMHO.
We’ve also just come back from that same neck of the woods, although we were a little further South (Shottisham).
It tends to be very sandy around there this time of the year and near on impossible to ride when it’s 4″ deep. A couple of miles north into Rendlesham Forest (near Woodbridge Airfield) is much better with lots of hidden singletrack.
I hope you tried The Sorrell Horse at Shottisham.